Sunday, March 25, 2007

For nearly two years, the YCJUSD has been working hard to ensure that its teachers are the lowest paid in the region. The Second Interim financial report filed by the district lists a 1.2 million dollar increase in the legal fees and consulting budget (this is an increase above the previously budgeted amount). A 1.2 million dollar expenditure is approximately a 4% raise for every district employee. So, since saving money is not the goal, we ask what is the goal of this decision? The money just budgeted for attorneys to fight on the district's behalf could have funded a full COLA raise for district employees, plus continuation of district health and welfare benefits. Instead of attempting to repair the damage done by an increasingly large gap between Yucaipa salaries and other local districts, our district seems bent on "winning". Perhaps our board and district administration would do well to familiarize themselves with the concept of a Pyrrhic Victory. Sometimes, even when you win, you lose.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

We hope that all the hard working teachers at all the schools in Yucaipa enjoy their Spring Break! Who knows...maybe we'll come back to a board that realizes that WE are the key to student success and DESERVE to be FAIRLY COMPENSATED for all the HARD WORK that we do.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Any ideas on how Ted could fix things? He's concerned about water bills being $25,000 over what was originally projected....could this have anything to do with the fully landscaped school that's sitting idle at the end of a long, dirt road?

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Parents with children in the North Monterey County School District staged a MAJOR "sit-out" Friday to show their support for teachers who recently declared impasse for 2005-07 salary negotiations.

Parent Laurie Greco summed up things very well when she stated to the press, " I think this might show the district that parents will continue to stand behind their teachers." Greco's children attend Prunedale Elementary School where nearly 25% of students were absent Friday.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Saturday, March 17, 2007

If you haven’t seen YCJUSD’s crown jewel (a.k.a. MesaViewMiddle School) we suggest you take a trip to the end of Ave. L (that’s on the Jack in the Box side of I10 in Calimesa) and check it out.You will be as impressed as we were with the full athletic facilities including a gym, the spacious grounds, the impressive entrance, the ample parking, and the beautifully maintained lawns and plantings.However, if you do want to take a look at it …

... you had better bring along a pair of binoculars, since you can’t get within a country mile of the buildings.You had also better wear your hiking boots since the front of the school is only accessible via a short hike from Ave L. or a long trek from Jack in the Box.It’s a good thing that the TrumpTower of the YCJUSD is so isolated. Can you imagine our Board having to face a constant reminder of its little oops had it been more accessible?But wait a minute, if it had been built in a more accessible location it would not be sitting unused, nor would the existing YCJUSD middle schools (sorry PVMS, the folks have a new favorite) would have alittle much-need breathing room.We suppose the Board has its reasons for leaving a beautiful, multi-million dollar facility unused for more than two years, but apparently you have to be a school board member to have the “technical skills” to understand such reasons.

It's less than a week until Spring Break. If the board follows their past practice, they will distribute a misleading "Snotgram" (aka: Negotiations Update) just as teachers are about to leave their sites for a two week break.

Will they declare our salaries to be the "highest in the region"?

Will they compare us to to districts hundreds of miles away?

Will they falsely claim that Yucaipa teachers are not allowed to go on strike?

Friday, March 16, 2007

From tract homes in Chapman Heights to business windows on Yucaipa Blvd. to rural properties in Calimesa, signs are starting to go up in the community.

If you live or own a business in Yucaipa or Calimesa and want to show that you care about Yucaipa and Calimesa attracting and retaining quality teachers please stop by the YCEA office to pick up a sign to display in your yard or at your business.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Tell us your worst/most embarrassing/saddest administrative bureaucratic problem during your time in the Yucaipa Calimesa JUSD. One of our unit members related the following story:

"It was the week before my father-in-law's wedding. My mother-in-law had passed away due to cancer, and my father-in-law had been devastated by the loss. He was fortunate to find a loving, caring woman he fell in love with, and they had decided the time was right to marry. I was scheduled to be their photographer. The YCJUSD Human Resources department called me and informed me that my interview was scheduled at 3:00 on the day of the wedding (the wedding was at 4:00 in Phoenix). I asked if there was any way I could either interview earlier, or do a telephone interview at the appointed time. I was coldly informed that if I was interested in the job, I must be there at 3:00, period. I missed the wedding and attended the interview. My wife and her family said they understood, but they were hurt by my non-attendance. Hindsight is 20/20! I could have stayed in the district I used to work in, and been treated better and paid more fairly than I have been for the past several years. I should have realized then what I now know: This district does not care a lick about fairness and decency."

"It is very important to my wife and me that our children get the best education available. This can only be possible if our school district hires qualified, skilled teachers. In order to attract these teachers, or keep the ones currently teaching in Yucaipa, we need to pay them a competitive fair wage."

"I don't know of any business or industry that doesn't give their employees a raise in pay annually. The Yucaipa/Calimesa teachers haven't seen a pay increase in over three years."

"I am sad to say that I voted for some of the current school board members."-Greg Stuart

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Are you confused? Not sure who to believe? You've heard that Yucaipa teachers are the lowest paid in the region yet the district administration tells you that you're among the highest paid.

Do your own unbiased comparison and decide for yourself. It's easy to do.

Step 1: Pick some comparison points to use. Use your own salary placement (step and number of credits) as well as a few others that may be of interest to you (for example, a beginning teacher with 30 credits, a teacher with five years and 45 semester credits, you decide.)

Step 2: Look at what the YCJUSD salary is for these steps. Here is the link to YCJUSD's current salary schedule:YCJUSD Salary Schedule

When you look at the other district websites, it is important to remember that not all districts use the same number of units for column placement (ie: Yucaipa uses increments of 15 units but some other districts use a different number) so be sure and look at the appropriate column.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

If you missed the school board meeting tonight, find a colleague who was there and ask what happened. Not the speakers who requested the reinstatement of the Pregnant Minors' Program, not the speakers who complained about the firing of the cheerleader advisor and the cancellation of their trip to Nationals, and not the parent speaker who chastised them on behalf of the teachers. No, ask your colleagues about what happened after the YCEA president spoke about the ongoing bargaining crisis.

You see, it's against the law for board members to engage in debate with speakers during public comment. It's also unprofessional to shout at them, interrupt them, pound on the table, and tell them they're providing their members with false information.

Are we providing false information? No - we merely took the salary schedules of 14 other districts, and provided charts that show that at all 6 major benchmarks, YCJUSD teachers are paid less than teachers at ANY other district. We're dead last. We have the lowest salary schedule around. We pointed out that the District needs to quit hiding behind the myth of "average teacher salaries" - that any fool can see that it's deliberately misleading. Apparently the District's financial experts haven't shared that with the board, or the board doesn't understand all the data and charts we've been giving them. We guess this post just doesn't make sense. We're just going to have to give them the complete charts.

We are appalled at the meltdown we witnessed tonight. But we won't back down. If she can't take the heat, we know of several candidates who would love to take her place.

One of our veteran colleagues was cleaning out her classroom the other day, and found an old "Mini Bolt" from 1986. In addition to some information about health benefits and professional growth, there was this:

Negotiations Update - September 1986

The negotiations team has now met with the board's representatives eight times for over fifty hours, including a meeting on Thursday, September 18. Not only is progress slow, but the two sides are still a considerable distance apart, particularly on money issues. The negotiations team is concerned with the need to maintain the position of Yucaipa's salary schedule as competitive with comparable districts.

"We’re trying to make a living, And we’re at the bottom of the scale,If they don’t offer more,Then we’re all going to bail!"

These lyrics sound like they were written about Yucaipa teachers but actually its our colleagues up north in Hayward. Like Yucaipa teachers, Hayward teachers find themselves at the dead last when compared to surrounding districts.

To learn more about the struggles the Hayward teachers are experiencing with their district, visit: http://www.heaonline.org/updates.html

Saturday, March 10, 2007

How much did you spend last year on your students, school and professional education?

Take a look at your tax return and let us know. Leave us a comment with the $$$ amount.

The Board of Education would like the public to believe that Yucaipa teachers are greedy, overpaid and not deserving a fair cost of living increase. They seem to quickly forget how much we subsidize the YCJUSD through the purchase of books, Xerox copies, field trip costs, science supplies, etc.

Why can all of these other school districts afford to spend more on salaries than YCJUSD? Perhaps their business departments know how to plan a budget. Perhaps their School Boards feel that employees are a priority. It is the employees, after all, who make a difference in the life of every child. Perhaps the other districts are not spending $600/hr on an attorney to clean up their mistakes and fight with their teachers. We would like the School Board to tell us why!

Thursday, March 8, 2007

The blog committee apologizes to those who were offended by or felt this satirical post was not appropriate. After re-examining the post, we have decided to delete it so that our message can remain focused on our goal of achieving a fair settlement for Yucaipa-Calimesa teachers.

We appreciate the anonymous commenter who wrote in with this comment:

"I am long time teacher in this district, well-respected by peers (I hope), and, more importantly, respected by students. I am very upset that the D.O. management and the majority of the Board looks upon me and my colleagues with contempt.Why and when the usually collegial nature of the negotiation process in this small district soured, why this change of culture occured, is open to speculation..."

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

A few days ago we received an anonymous comment. We're pretty sure we know who it's from, and instead of publishing it and letting it go unnoticed, we've decided to let our readers see it. We invite our readers to respond as well–perhaps you have more to add to the conversation.

The comment is in blue, and our response is in red.

"Here is some information you should be sharing with your readers:

First, the average teacher in Yucaipa earns about $62,000 for working just 9 months, plus nearly $9,000 in health benefits that can have NO monthly premium for the entire family."Here we go again with that ridiculous “average teacher” term. The District likes to trumpet that our “average teacher” salary is one of the highest in the area. Yes, it’s indeed about $62,000. But they’re talking about the salaries paid to teachers who have advanced degrees and who have committed their careers to Yucaipa-Calimesa. They’re talking about teachers who have the highest longevity rates of any district in southern California.

What they’re NOT talking about is our salary schedule, which is the LOWEST in southern California. (Seethis postbelow).

"This is equivalent to about a $90,000/year job if they worked the entire year like most people do."So are you saying we should all take second jobs? Give me a break. We work our tails off from August to June, and you want to criticize us for being in a profession that still gives students time to work on the family farm.

"Also teachers only work six hours a day so the average teacher in Yucaipa earns the equivalent of about $56.00 hour."Oh my, are you soooo wrong there. No teacher in the world has ever worked six hours a day. Oh, wait–you’re talking about student “face time.” I guess you don’t think doing lesson plans, grading papers, filling out MADD sheets, tutoring kids during lunch, giving makeup tests before and after school, calling parents, going to IEPs, watching the bike rack, sitting in faculty meetings, serving on the leadership team, creating curriculum maps, wiping runny noses, counting heads for lunch, holding back-to-school nights and open houses, filling out endless forms, and so on is work. What do you call it if it’s not work?

Let’s talk about how much a board member makes for his/her “volunteer” job. Hmm. Two meetings a month, each meeting averaging three hours, if you count closed session. $240 a month PLUS a $9000 health benefits plan (since they get the same one teachers do)–that works out to $165 an hour. That’s three times what you think WE make per hour.

"This is very high pay for a job that doesn't require a high degree of technical skills."Technical skills? I could have gone to DeVry or ITT Technical Institute if I wanted technical skills. Instead, I went to a four-year university for a bachelor’s degree, then I went to another university four more years and got a master’s degree. I also completed student teaching, along with hundreds of hours of professional development coursework just to remain qualified to be a teacher. How interesting that you need to compare teachers to other careers instead of to other teachers. Those of you in other careers think cogs and widgets are more important than students. A teacher's number one priority is the student. We therefore have a much more important responsibility - children's lives.

"Second, the union has received some significant raises--as much as 10% within the last few years!"Really? Where are they? I guess you’re referring way back to 2000-01, when the state of California gave districts tons of new money, and we fought long and hard for 10%. But that was 7 years ago. Since then, it’s been slim pickin’s. We got COLA in 01/02, which was about3.9%. In 02/03 we got 1% midyear. In 03/04, we got ZERO. In 04/05, we got 1.5% midyear. Add ZERO for 05-06 and 06-07. I don’t believe my colleagues would call those “significant raises.” I know I don’t.

"Third, union teachers in Yucaipa-Calimesa receive an AUTOMATIC raise -called step and column that equates to about a average 1.5-2% raise anyway EVERY YEAR."Nope. You’re really wrong here. (And why call us “union teachers?” You throw that out like it’s a bad thing. You can thank unions for your weekends, your 40-hour work week, and the fact that your son didn’t have to go to work as a child.) Only about half of our teachers in a given year receive step and column. Over 200 teachers each year have reached a place on the salary schedule where they don’t get any kind of increase at all. And those that do have earned an increase due to their longevity (meaning commitment) or the fact that they’ve spent THOUSANDS of dollars of their own money on college coursework. Those degrees and semester hours aren’t free. The average cost of a college degree is now $20,000, and a masters’ degree takes $50,000-60,000. It’ll take me 8 years to pay off the cost of my master’s degree, and my increase in salary might then be worth the time and money.

"Add to that the 9% the district has already offered the teachers union and that totals 13%, much more than COLA."The district has offered us 9% for a two-year period, and expects us to use about 2.5% of it to pay for the increased costs of health benefits. That will net us a whopping 6.5% increase to our salaries.

Compare this to Colton, who recently settled for a 14% increase over three years, PLUS no change to their health benefits. They’re not being asked to pay for their own step and column, or for health benefits increases – no, their board finally realized they needed to come up with a fair settlement. So they did.

Compare this to Banning, who recently settled for 9% for this year and next, on top of 4.2% they got for last year – PLUS an additional 2% added to health benefits to keep them covered. Their total comp package for three years is 15.2%.

Compare this to Riverside, who settled for a 6.6% raise for 2006-07 (fully retro), on top of last year’s 4.23% increase. They also compressed their salary schedule, eliminating the first four columns! One more thing – they increased the rate for buy-backs to $292, while YCJUSD continues to pay a measly $25 an hour.

And we’re supposed to think the district’s offer is fair? You really DO think we’re stupid, don’t you? Why do you even TRY to pretend to respect us? Oh, that’s right. You don’t even pretend.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Community members are looking into a RECALL of the YCJUSD governing board. Sighting a lack of positive leadership, a disregard for the concerns of the parents and teachers, and a track record of questionable decisions, a group of parents and concerned business people from Yucaipa and Calimesa have requested information from YCEA regarding the procedures and timelines for initiating a recall election.Especially troubling to the group was the board’s recent decision to extend its own terms by adjusting the election cycle to coincide with general elections.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

The University of Redlands will be hosting a teacher job fair on Tuesday, March 6 from 3:00 to 5:00 in the Orton Center. A large number of Inland Empire school districts are expected to be there.

Rumor has it that Yucaipa will not be there. Could it be that the administration is ashamed of having the LOWEST salary schedule for beginning teachers? Is the administration afraid that they face the uncomfortable position of seeing their own teachers at the fair seeking employment elsewhere? We'll never know!

According to a comment left on this blog last week, a group of YHS teachers are planning a happy hour at Jose's in Yucaipa after they attend the fair. All Yucaipa teachers, whether they attend the job fair or not, are invited to attend.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Let's talk about salary comparisons. When a fact-finder looks at the information presented by the two sides, by law, one of the criteria is comparison. Yucaipa-Calimesa is in a "comparison group" with 14 other districts, all of whom are in the Inland Empire area, and are "unified" districts (K-12). Our comparison districts are: Alvord, Banning, Beaumont, Chino Valley, Colton, Corona-Norco, Fontana, Hemet, Jurupa, Moreno Valley, Redlands, Rialto, Riverside, and San Bernardino.

As of this date, let's look at 5 "benchmarks" on the salary schedules.

One of the joys of owning your own blog is you get to moderate comments - meaning you get to decide whether or not a comment is going to appear. Well, the blog committee just rejected its first comment. But we WILL respond to some of it, since it would be hypocritical to complain about censorship by the District (regarding its blocking our blog from its server), and then turn around and censor someone who clearly disagrees with us.

In response to the post and comments about the artificial turf project at YHS:

"The board asking for bids does not mean that they are going through with the football field project."Well, yes it does.

"Where did we get the information that the high school principal donated $10,000 a year to this project?"That rumor, posted in the comments section, didn't come from the blog committee. But you need to know that Mr. Cavanagh OFFERED to donate $10,000 from discretionary account at the February 20 board meeting.

"This board was not elected to do the bidding of the teachers."Yup, we'll agree with you there. But they WERE elected to do the bidding of the electorate, which expects an employer to treat its employees well, to compensate them fairly for the work they do, and to ensure they have the facilities, supplies, and other important resources to do the work they do.

"They were elected to do the bidding of the students."No, they weren't.

"Who should be the priority here? Students or teachers?"We won't argue with the concept that students should be a priority. But we're not talking about writing checks to students, we're talking about providing students with experienced, educated, talented teachers. Now that our salary schedule has us at the BOTTOM of our comparison districts at all 6 major benchmarks, attracting those teachers is next-to-impossible. Keeping them is also hard - once Redlands makes its hiring decisions, you'll see some pretty key staff members at one school disappear. It's not official yet, but they're GONE.

"Let's start being truthful and things will get better."We think you're talking to the wrong folks. Send that comment over to the District.